


Happy New Year, Old Friend

by Robin Hood (kjack89)



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Canon, Developing Relationship, Light Angst, M/M, New Year's Eve, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:29:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22034854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kjack89/pseuds/Robin%20Hood
Summary: Five New Year's Eves Barba and Carisi don't spend together, and one they do.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 19
Kudos: 125
Collections: Barisi Holiday Exchange 2019





	Happy New Year, Old Friend

**Author's Note:**

  * For [octothorpetopus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/octothorpetopus/gifts).



> For minnesotamemelord, who requested: "Fanfic about one of them pining after the other (slow burn, babey!)", and I hope this works! 
> 
> Thanks to Chelsea for the beta!

_December 31, 2014_

Barba strode into the precinct just after 5pm, case file in hand. He wasn’t sure which member of Olivia’s band of miscreants had drawn the short straw and would be on duty on New Year’s Eve, and was inclined to believe it’d be Amaro, just given the man’s luck of late.

But when he got to the bullpen, he saw Carisi bent over his desk, and his unusually good mood only increased.

Of course, the new guy. And Barba’s current favorite target to mock.

Carisi glanced up when he approached, doing a fairly comical double-take as he caught sight of the tuxedo that Barba wore, his eyes widening as he eyed Barba with something like appreciation in his expression. Barba tried not to preen. “I see you’ve drawn the short straw,” he remarked casually, and Carisi blinked before making a face.

“Actually, I volunteered,” he said. “Everyone else has got family to be with, and it didn’t seem right that they be stuck working.”

“Magnanimous of you,” Barba said mildly, and the tips of Carisi’s ears turned red, as if he knew Barba was making fun of him.

But instead of saying something about it, he just cleared his throat, looking pointedly down at the case file Barba was carrying. “Do you come bearing gifts?”

“And here I thought my presence was present enough,” Barba said wryly before tossing the case file on Carisi’s desk. “But I suppose you can consider the deal I got on that case a present nonetheless.”

Carisi grabbed the case file eagerly, and flipped it open, scanning it for a moment before his expression fell. “Five years?” he demanded, glaring accusingly up at Barba, who sighed.

“Five years, and a lifetime on the registry. And believe me, considering the evidence you gave me to work with, five years is a gift.”

For a moment, it looked like Carisi might argue with that, but he settled for sighing and putting the case file on top of one of several stacks on his desk. “Well, happy holidays, I guess,” he said grudgingly, before eyeing Barba again and asking, far too casually to actually be casual, “So, uh, going somewhere special?”

Barba smirked. “What makes you ask?” he asked innocently, and Carisi gave him a look.

“The monkey suit was a pretty good indication,” he said sourly.

Barba’s smirk widened. “What, this old thing?” he asked, perching on the edge of Carisi’s desk and smoothing a hand down the front of his tuxedo jacket, well aware that Carisi was tracking the movement.

“You look nice,” Carisi offered, before looking almost mortified. “I mean, uh, you clean up good. For a lawyer, at least.”

Barba was tempted to tease him further, but Carisi had only been working at SVU for a few months and Barba hadn’t yet figured out where exactly on the Kinsey Scale he fell — though if he had to guess, it’d be on the higher end of the scale, especially given the way Carisi was still looking in what he clearly thought was a surreptitious way at how Barba’s jacket was just a skosh too tight across his chest.

Instead, he let the comment go with little more than a shrug. “Hazard of the job, I’m afraid,” he said. “The DA’s having his annual NYE fundraiser, which is unfortunately black tie.”

Carisi wrinkled his nose. “You’d never catch me dead at some political event,” he said, pronouncing political like it was a dirty word.

Barba barked a laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind when the Detective’s Endowment Association hosts its annual gala,” he said pointedly.

“That’s different,” Carisi told him with a scowl.

“How?” Barba asked, amused. “Please, Detective, enlighten me.”

Carisi glared at him. “It just is, ok?” he said crossly.

Again, Barba’s immediate reaction was to mock, but maybe just as a vestige of something like Christmas cheer, he decided not to, instead chuckling and shaking his head. “Fine,” he said, “but if I ever catch you at some political event or another…”

He stood, and Carisi glanced up at him, half-amused, half-wary. “What’ll you do?” he asked.

“That’s for me to know and for you to find out,” Barba told him with a smirk.

Carisi snorted. “I dunno how I feel about going into 2015 with some vague threat hanging over my head,” he said, more sarcastically than earnest by any stretch.

Barba shrugged. “I imagine you’ll get used to it,” he said, just a little smugly, and hesitated before adding, “Happy New Year, Detective.”

“Happy New Year, Counselor,” Carisi said with his usual warm smile. “Have fun at your event.”

“I imagine I’ll have more fun than you will,” Barba tossed over his shoulder as he made his way to the elevators, and he caught sight of Carisi’s smile once more before the elevator doors closed, the sight enough to leave him feeling warm all the way to the DA’s fundraiser.

_December 31, 2015_

Barba highlighted what seemed like it might be a particularly promising sentence in the law review article he was reading before glancing up at the clock, wishing almost immediately that he hadn’t. It was almost 9pm and here he was, still in his office, prepping for a meeting that the judge insisted be held on January 1, despite the courts being closed for the holiday.

He sighed and tossed his highlighter down, wondering if it was too early to bust out the scotch. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed again when his phone vibrated on his desk. But when he picked it up, his impending foul mood was staved off, at least temporarily, just by seeing who had texted him.

[ _From: Carisi_ ] _Happy New Year, Counselor!_

Barba smiled almost involuntarily to himself. Carisi texting him was nothing new, especially as they had gotten closer over the past year, with Carisi even shadowing Barba recently and managing to not make a complete fool of himself.

But somehow, despite how commonly they occurred, a text from Carisi was still almost guaranteed to make Barba smile.

[ _From: Barba_ ] _Are you also spending your New Year’s Eve at work?_

Carisi responded almost instantly. 

[ _From: Carisi_ ] _Nope, I’m not on duty this year, thank God_ . Followed just as quickly by, _Wait you’re stuck at work? LOL looks like the tables have turned._

Barba rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair as his thumbs made quick work of his Blackberry’s keyboard.

[ _From: Barba_ ] _Gloating, Detective? Really? About being squeezed into some bar with a hundred other people, paying for overpriced cocktails?_

This time it took a minute for Carisi to reply, and Barba smirked slightly at the petulance he read in every word.

[ _From: Carisi_ ] _At least it’s better than being stuck at work._

[ _From: Barba_ ] _Touche._

[ _From: Carisi_ ] _Besides, I’m getting, as the kids these days say, lit this year._

Barba wrinkled his nose as much at Carisi’s use of slang as he did at the thought of the last time he got spectacularly drunk, something he no longer relished now that he was 45 years old.

[ _From: Barba_ ] _Enjoy your hangover. Also no one says that, kids or otherwise._

Carisi was quick with his retort.

[ _From: Carisi_ ] _Maybe none of the dinosaurs you hang out with._

Barba snorted. 

[ _From: Barba_ ] _Dinosaurs? Just how ‘lit’ are you?_

[ _From: Carisi_ ] _Believe it or not, not at all yet. Standing in line to meet some friends at a club._

[ _From: Barba_ ] _I’m beginning to second guess whether that’s better than being stuck at work._

[ _From: Carisi_ ] _You and me both._

Barba laughed lightly, though his smile faded when he caught sight of the time and realized he’d spent the last half hour texting with Carisi rather than getting any work done.

[ _From: Barba_ ] _In any case, work calls. Enjoy your evening, and Happy New Year, Carisi._

He set his phone down on his desk and picked up his highlighter, but he hadn’t even gotten through a single paragraph when his phone buzzed again.

[ _From: Carisi_ ] _If you get done with work early enough, you should come join us._

On any other night, that might be a tempting proposition, if only because Carisi had proven himself time and again to be a genial drinking partner, and Barba had the sneaking suspicion that Carisi might even make the throngs of drunken revelers worth it. But he had a meeting that he really did need to prep for, and which it would be best not to appear at nursing a hangover.

[ _From: Barba_ ] _Unfortunately, I’ve got a meeting tomorrow or otherwise I would. You’ll just have to drink enough for both of us._

[ _From: Carisi_ ] _That I can do ;)_

Barba rolled his eyes, but it was with obvious affection, and this time, when he returned his phone to his desk, it remained silent. For about a half hour, at least, before it again buzzed, and he rubbed his eyes before grabbing it.

[ _From: Carisi_ ] _Goddamnit._

Even without any context, Barba knew what such a text on a holiday night meant, and he grabbed his suit jacket from the back of his chair, composing his response one-handed as he pulled his jacket on.

[ _From: Barba_ ] _Let me guess — SVU caught a case?_

[ _From: Carisi_ ] _Yup. I’m on my way to the precinct now. Lieu wants you to come by when you can. Case sounds like a doozy._

[ _From: Barba_ ] _I’ll be there shortly. Dare I ask if you’re sober enough for work?_

[ _From: Carisi_ ] _Didn’t even make it inside the bar :(_

Barba barked a short laugh at that, shaking his head at the thought of Carisi standing in line for that long without even making it inside.

[ _From: Barba_ ] _Well, there’s always next year._

Besides, he reasoned, if things went well with the case, maybe there’d be time for a drink afterwards. With all the SVU detectives, of course. Not just Carisi. 

Though if it ended up just being him and Carisi, Barba wasn’t entirely sure he’d complain.

_December 31, 2016_

“Here.” Barba glanced over at Olivia, who was holding out a scotch glass for him. “Something to toast with,” she added with a smile. “Since you don’t strike me as a champagne guy.”

Barba laughed as he accepted the glass. “I’ll do a toast with it, but you’re right, not really my liquor of choice.” He took a sip of scotch, eyes widening in appreciation. “This, though? This’ll do nicely.”

Olivia’s smile widened. “I’ll have to thank Rita,” she said, taking a sip of champagne. “She was the one who told me what kind to get.”

“Should’ve known,” Barba muttered, taking another sip. “Thanks for this, by the way — hosting New Year’s Eve for everyone.”

Olivia looked around her apartment, seeming content in a way that Barba hadn’t seen her in a long time. “What can I say,” she said lightly. “The holidays are meant to be spent with family.”

Barba glanced around as well, at the SVU detectives and Tucker and Noah and the various other people that made up Olivia’s life, his gaze lingering on Carisi, who was talking animatedly with Rollins. “I suppose they are,” he murmured.

Olivia squeezed his arm. “Happy New Year, Rafa,” she said, leaving to find Tucker as the countdown started.

Barba felt suddenly very alone, even as he was standing in a crowd of people, and he hastily took a sip of scotch to give him something to do other than join in on the shouted countdown and subsequent cheers when it reached midnight. He looked automatically for Olivia, but turned away when he saw Tucker tilt her chin up to kiss her, feeling inexplicably embarrassed.

Despite himself, he couldn’t help but glance over at Carisi, who had just leaned in to give Rollins a swift peck on the cheek, his eyes meeting Barba’s as he did. Barba forced a smile and lifted his glass in a toast, gratified when Carisi’s own smile widened, just slightly, before he mouthed ‘Happy New Year’.

Barba nodded in return and drained his glass of scotch, heading into the kitchen for a refill, and trying not to think about when he had decided that a smile from Carisi was enough for him to feel like his new year was starting off on the right foot.

  
  


_December 31, 2017_

Spending his New Year’s Eve at a Detective’s Endowment Association party/fundraiser wasn’t exactly how Barba had planned on spending his evening, but Olivia had asked him to make an appearance in that tone of voice she used when she’d been spending too much time talking to Barba’s mother recently, and so here he was, wearing one of few tuxedos in a room full of dress uniforms.

Luckily, one of the first people he spotted was exactly who he wanted to see, and he smiled as Carisi made his way over. “Hey,” Carisi said, sounding as relieved as Barba felt. “Don’t even think about saying anything.”

Barba laughed lightly. “I wasn’t going to,” he assured him.

Carisi just gave him a look. “You weren’t going to say ‘I told you so’?”

“Well, now that you mention it—”

“C’mon,” Carisi said, rolling his eyes. “Let’s get a drink.”

They made their way over to the bar, stopping to say hello to a few key officials and steering clear of several others, and with drinks in their hands, made the rounds through the rest of the assembled guests.

As Barba was beginning to think he was going to doze off in the middle of one of the Deputy Commissioner’s long-winded stories, he caught sight of Carisi, who jerked his head toward one of the doors that led to the balcony. “Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me,” Barba said, not bothering to give an excuse before making his escape to Carisi, who held a full glass of scotch for him. “My hero.”

Carisi chuckled, leading the way out to the balcony, which was mercifully empty. “I still don’t know how you do it,” Carisi said, bending over to rest his elbows against the balcony ledge, staring down at the traffic below. “Half an hour in and I’m already checking my watch to see when I get to leave.”

“That never really goes away,” Barba said, mimicking Carisi’s pose.

Carisi shook his head slowly, taking a sip from his bottle of beer. “Don’t you ever get tired of it?” he asked.

“Yes,” Barba said honestly, swirling his scotch in his glass. “As a matter of fact, I’ve been getting very tired of it recently.”

Carisi glanced over at him. “Uh-oh, that doesn’t sound good,” he said, with a small smile, turning to rest his back against the balcony ledge. “You wanna talk about it?”

Barba jerked a shrug, still staring down at his glass. “There’s not really much to say,” he said, taking a sip of scotch before adding, “Other than the fact that I’m not entirely sure how much longer I’m planning on staying at the DA’s office.”

Carisi’s smile disappeared. “What?” he said blankly. “You mean you’re gonna — what, quit?” He sounded personally insulted at the idea, and Barba winced. “I mean, you’re not old enough to retire, so…”

“I was thinking about resigning, yes,” Barba said carefully.

Carisi stared at him. “Resigning to do what?” he demanded. “You got some fancy private sector job lined up that I don’t know about?”

“Of course not,” Barba scoffed. “I don’t have time to job hunt. I don’t have time to do much of anything outside of work, which is perhaps part of my point.”

“So you’re thinking about walking away so can have more free time?” Carisi said incredulously. “C’mon Barba—”

“I was thinking about leaving because this job no longer makes me happy,” Barba interrupted, an edge to his voice. “Because I feel like I’ve reached as high as I will ever get and now I just feel stuck.” He took another sip of scotch. “Something I thought you might understand a little bit about.”

Carisi recoiled. “What, feeling stuck?” he scoffed, though he couldn’t quite seem to meet Barba’s eyes. “I dunno what you’re talking about.”

Barba arched an eyebrow at him. “Don’t you?” he asked coolly. “Or do you really never intend on using that law degree that you worked so hard for?”

Something tightened in Carisi’s expression. “I use my law degree every single day,” he said, a note of warning in his voice, a note of warning that on any other night under any other circumstances, Barba would probably have heeded.

But not that night.

Instead, he met Carisi’s glare evenly. “No, you use your knowledge of the law every single day, the same exact knowledge you would have if you were just a cop. But you’re more than that— or at least, I thought you were.”

He hadn’t meant to end as flippantly as he had, so it was no surprise when hurt flashed across Carisi’s face. “And what’s so wrong with being just a cop?” he asked, his voice low.

Barba sighed. “Nothing’s wrong with it, I just thought—”

“Just because you’re unhappy with your life doesn’t mean I’m unhappy with mine,” Carisi snapped, and Barba jerked back, meeting his glare with one of his own. “I’ve made my choices, ok, and you don’t have to like ‘em, but their my choices, not yours.”

“And what if they’re the wrong ones?” Barba challenged, all the feelings he’d kept pent up about wanting to leave spilling out before he could even hope to stop them. “There’s a whole world outside of special victims, outside of the NYPD! So many people who you could help, so much you could do.”

For a moment, it looked like Carisi might deny that, but instead he took a deep breath as if calming himself before saying, his voice low, “Sounds like you’ve been giving a lot of thought to me not being a cop.”

Barba shrugged. “I have,” he admitted, turning to face Carisi, propping his hip against the balcony. “I’ve thought a lot about what could happen if you weren’t a cop. Who you could be. Who we could be.”

He hadn’t quite meant to say the last part, but it was too late now, and he looked away from Carisi, swallowing hard as he waited for him to say something, anything. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Carisi said finally, and it hurt worse than anything else he could have said.

“Don’t you?” Barba said, harsher than he intended, lashhng out just as he always did when he felt cornered. “Or have you forgotten about your little misadventure in West Virginia?”

Carisi flinched. “You heard about that?” he asked softly.

Barba shrugged. “Rollins told Liv, who told me,” he muttered.

Carisi nodded, a blush spreading across his face. “Well, it was a, a mistake, ok?” he said. “And besides, I don’t see what it has to do with anything we’re talking about here.”

Barba searched his expression for a moment, hoping to find something, anything, to tell him that this conversation wasn’t entirely in vain. But Carisi’s jaw was clenched stubbornly, and the blue eyes Barba spent more time than he cared to think about looking at revealed nothing.

So Barba barked a short laugh, drawing a hand over his face. “Maybe you don’t,” he muttered. “Maybe this is just another reason why it’s time for me to get out while I still can.”

He drained his glass of scotch and turned away, pausing only when Carisi caught his arm, holding him in place. “Raf—” Carisi started, something shifting in his expression, but Barba shrugged out of Carisi’s grip.

“Happy New Year, Sonny,” he said, walking away before Carisi could say anything more, determined that one way or another, he would find some happiness this new year, even if it wasn’t in any of the ways he had thought he might.

_December 31, 2018_

“Are you sure I can’t convince you to come out, Rafi?” Rita Calhoun asked, the pleading in her voice amplified by the tinny quality of Barba’s cellphone speaker, and he sighed as he finished pouring himself two fingers of scotch.

“As much as I appreciate the offer,” he said, grabbing his phone and switching speakerphone off before holding it again to his ear, “I think I’m better off just staying home this year. Might still be a little early to show my face in Manhattan’s legal circles.”

Rita scoffed. “Oh, please,” she said. “People have bounced back from far worse and still come out to the parties. Besides, it’s not as if you’ve exactly been keeping a low profile, Mr. Civilian Complaint Review Board.”

“All the more reason to spend tonight in,” Barba told her, smirking when she let out a frustrated sigh.

“Fiiiine,” she said, drawing the single syllable out as long as she could, “but I’ll have you know that there’s a gorgeous and utterly charming young man interning at my firm who is going to be there tonight and who you would absolutely fall for.”

Barba wrinkled his nose. “An intern, Rita?” he asked. “Robbing the cradle a bit, aren’t we?”

Rita laughed lightly. “He’s making a mid-career switch to law, actually, so he’s in his thirties,” she told him. “Besides, he’s blond with blue eyes, which last time I checked was exactly how you like your men.”

Her words hit like a ton of bricks, and it took Barba a moment to pull himself together. “Thanks, but blonds aren’t my type,” he muttered.

“No?” Rita asked shrewdly. “So it was just the one blond in particular, then?”

“Goodnight, Rita,” Barba said pointedly as he hung up on her. 

It had been almost a year since Barba had left the DA’s office, and he and Carisi had barely spoken. A few cursory pleasantries when they ran into each other in public, but that was it. He had made sure that Olivia had his new number, trusting her to pass it on to whomever might want it, but if Carisi had asked for it, he had yet to call or text.

Which was fine. It was a new year, and perhaps it was past time for them both to move on.

Barba sighed and glanced down at his scotch, suddenly not in the mood for his plans of scotch and mindless NYE entertainment on the TV. Instead, he tossed his scotch back in a single gulp and went to his bedroom to get ready for bed.

Pathetic though it may be, Barba also felt like it was the night he needed. There was no point waiting up until midnight, not when the only thing he was invariably going to feel was disappointment.

He needed a year that was different in every way from the way this year had been. And he wasn’t going to find that staying up to midnight in his apartment alone on New Year’s Eve.

And so he was asleep before the ball dropped, and before the text that showed up on his phone at 12:03am.

[ _From: Carisi_ ] _Happy New Year, Rafael._

_December 31, 2019_

Barba tugged almost nervously at his bowtie as he entered the ballroom for the first DA’s fundraiser he'd been to since leaving the DA’s office. He hadn’t intended on coming at all, but Carisi had texted him asking him to. He had also texted Barba two pictures the day before, pictures of Carisi in two different tuxedos, asking which one he should rent.

And Barba wanted to see if he had made the right choice in person, even if it meant going into a room full of vultures with only a few minutes to spare before midnight.

The man in question lit up when he saw Barba, murmuring something to the group of lawyers he was talking with and picking his way through the crowd to where Barba stood. “Hey,” Carisi said with a wide smile. “I didn’t think you were gonna come.”

“And miss the scintillating conversation and open bar?” Barba asked lightly. “Not on your life, Counselor.”

Carisi grinned. “It’s good to see you,” he said, giving him a once over before adding, “Surprised that tux still fits, though, or does CCRB just not pay enough for you to get a new one?”

Barba rolled his eyes. “Cute,” he said, “but I’ll have you know I got a pay increase, not a pay cut. And the same can’t be said for you.”

Carisi made a face. “Don’t remind me,” he said with a somewhat gloomy sigh. “The DA should subsidize my tux rental.”

“Buy one on clearance in the new year,” Barba advised. “You’ll save money in the long run, trust me.”

“I always have,” Carisi said lightly, and Barba tore his eyes away from Carisi’s, scanning the ballroom.

“Shall we get a drink for the toast?” he suggested lightly, but Carisi shook his head as the song changed from a generic upbeat song to a generic slower song, neither of which Barba recognized.

“Actually, uh, you wanna dance?”

Barba stared at him. “With you?” he asked stupidly.

“No, with the DA,” Carisi said with a laugh. “Yes, with me.” He held out his hand, which Barba just stared at. “What do you say?”

Nothing, it turned out, as Barba wordlessly took Carisi’s hand and allowed him to lead him out to the dance floor where they stood awkwardly for a moment before Barba took a step closer to Carisi, placing his hand lightly on Carisi’s shoulder. Carisi splayed a hand against the small of Barba’s back, and Barba tried not to lean into the touch as Carisi took his free hand and they began swaying, somewhat inelegantly, to the strains of the song.

Carisi bowed his head toward Barba’s so that he could hear him over the music. “You know, you were right, as much as I didn’t want to admit it,” he said.

“I’m right about most things,” Barba said, and Carisi laughed.

“Yeah,” he said, “you are.”

“As such,” Barba continued, “you’re going to have to be more specific.”

Carisi sighed, glancing around the room, something unreadable in his expression. Then he looked back at Barba, his dimples deepening as he smiled at him. “I wasn’t happy before,” he told Barba. “As a cop, I mean.”

“And you’re happy in the DA’s office?” Barba asked, not because he doubted it, but because he wanted to hear it from Carisi to be sure.

Carisi shrugged. “Well, like you already mentioned, the pay cut’s no fun, and the hours suck almost as badly as NYPD, but yeah, I think I am.” He looked at Barba, and Barba was aware for the first time just how closely they were dancing, just how perfect his hand felt in Carisi’s. “Or at least,” Carisi added, his voice barely louder than a murmur, “I think I could be.”

The music stopped for the DJ to announce that it was two minutes to midnight, and Barba and Carisi stopped dancing, but neither man let go of the other, neither seemingly willing to walk away. Barba stared up at Carisi for a moment before looking away, feeling inexplicably tongue-tied. “I, uh, I should get going,” he said, feeling the back of his neck burn red. “I just wanted to stop by to — pay my respects, I guess.”

“You don’t have to go,” Carisi told him, and Barba sighed.

“Sonny—” he started, but Carisi didn’t let him continue.

“Look, I know that we – we have a lot to work out, and a lot more questions than answers, but we’ve also got a brand new year — hell, a brand new decade ahead of us to figure it all out.”

Barba wet his lips. “Technically, the new decade doesn’t start until next year,” he said, but Carisi ignored him.

“So you should stay,” he said firmly, and when Barba just shook his head, added, “I want you to stay.”

Barba’s mouth felt dry. “Sonny—”

“Please, Raf.”

Barba stared up at him as the countdown started, weighing everything they’d been through over the past few years, weighing how far he’d come when he had to make it on his own outside of the DA’s office, weighing whether it was worth it to risk that just so that he could have everything he’d ever wanted.

The choice had been made many New Year’s Eves prior, Barba knew. Even if he had wanted to, there was nowhere else he could be that night.

“Stay,” Sonny repeated, and Barba nodded.

“Ok,” he said simply, leaning in to kiss Sonny just as the countdown reached zero.

Cheers erupted around them as everyone else at the party celebrated the start of the new year, but neither man noticed or cared, just holding on to each other, and to a moment both had waited for and wanted for far too long.

When they finally pulled apart, it was hard to say which man wore the bigger smile. “Happy New Year, Raf,” Sonny said, and Barba leaned in and kissed his cheek.

“Happy New Year, Sonny.”


End file.
